24/03/2026
Before anything else, this AI generated image is awesome. 🤣
So here we go....
𝐖𝐞 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚 $𝟓 / 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫
8 hours a day.
5 days a week.
Graveyard shift.
That's around ₱44,000
And no, it wasn’t an easy decision, but it was the right one.
Earlier, we had a discovery call with a potential client. She shared everything she thought she needed, podcasts, creatives, general VA tasks…
a little bit of everything.
And honestly, we get it. Not every business owner knows exactly what they need yet. That’s something we, as VAs, can help figure out along the way.
But here’s the hard truth:
When a business lacks clarity, it already makes ex*****on more challenging. Add a lowball rate on top of that and you’re setting both the VA and the business up for frustration.
Now let’s talk about the real reason we said no.
It’s not just about the $5/hour.
It’s about what that number represents.
Because every time someone accepts that rate, it reinforces a harmful narrative:
❌ that Filipino VAs are “cheap labor”
❌that we should be paid less for the same value
❌ that our skills are negotiable, but only downward
And that’s simply not true.
There is no difference between a Filipino VA, an American VA, or a Canadian VA when it comes to delivering results.
The only difference is the rate clients choose to offer.
So if a client can pay $15–$20/hour elsewhere, why is $5 suddenly acceptable for us?
𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬.
𝐖𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝.
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐨 𝐕𝐀 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.
Because the more we normalize fair rates, the more we elevate everyone.
Know your value.
And don’t be afraid to walk away from anything that doesn’t honor it.
Goodluck! ☘️
